Fort Haven out to do something for the poor

When it comes to the state of our nation's soul regarding the poor, I don't have a lot of answers or wisdom to impart. I just know that there must be some middle ground between "Let 'em eat cake" -- read: "To hell with the poor! Get a job!" -- and "You're an enlightened, compassionate and spiritually 'with it' person if you agree that every American is entitled to free food, housing and health care."

I'm saying that partisan political dialogue regarding the poor is as dull as leftover oatmeal, and not nearly as edifying.

I never know why I give change or cash to a homeless person. Just that sometimes I do. Feels like some voice says "do that." Other times there is no voice, and I drive on. I have no rational defense for doing it or not doing it. Mostly it feels like an exercise in hopelessness.

On the one hand, my Christian values insist that, when confronted with a man who is starving, the first question is not "Why is this man starving?" No, the first order of business is a bologna sandwich and some orange juice. He is, after all, a human being.

On the other hand, once his belly is momentarily content, the question of why he is starving is indeed relevant. "The poor participate in their poverty," said my mentor, Ruth Barnhouse, and I would argue that, unless we are willing to insist that the poor examine their participation in poverty, we can't respect them. This insistence is part and parcel of our compassion for them.

And, on the third hand -- yep, this argument has three arms! -- a moral nation must be willing to examine the presence of injustices in socioeconomic systems, which likewise participate in impoverishing some Americans. There are days I'm left wondering if "the system" doesn't ironically require X percentage of poor people.

I say all that to say this: When I learned about Fort Haven, I felt respect and admiration. Clearly, there remain folks on this planet not about to wait for political deliberations to yield solutions. The folks at Fort Haven have a mission. A vision. And they intend to make it real. Or give their all trying.

Fort Haven is a nonprofit service to the homeless. They were able to buy an ol' church building at 1401 Las Vegas Blvd. North because a grieving daughter handed them $22,000 from her father's estate coupled with $9,000 from social action "shaker/mover" Michael Huff, former owner of The Sobriety Club House.

Fort Haven begs and borrows everything, even their nonprofit status, effectively "loaned" to them by Pastor Dale and The Circuit Riders, an evangelical motorcycle gang. The irony is delicious.

Working together with the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, Fort Haven has for the past few weeks been feeding 150-plus people each night. They are soliciting donations from the community -- that's you and me -- for food donations, blankets, cots, pillows, a working truck (to haul donations) and, yes, a freezer.

The biggest albatross right now is the $7,000 monthly mortgage hanging around the neck of that ol' church property.

The Fort Haven board is entirely volunteer. Indeed, everybody working with/for Fort Haven is a volunteer. Fort Haven's emerging mission includes a thrift shop, a commercial kitchen, a shelter and an ambitious education program (GEDs, job training, planning for real participation in the economy, etc.)

Is your religious group, social service group or school looking to adopt an "orphan"? Individually, do you have a philanthropic itch? Well, Fort Haven is an orphan worth a look. They aren't navel gazing. They aren't opining. They certainly aren't philosophizing. And they have zero interest in politics.

They wanna do something.

Do you wanna do something? Call Michael Huff: 702-505-3939.

Steven Kalas is a behavioral health consultant and counselor at Clear View Counseling Wellness Center in Las Vegas and the author of "Human Matters: Wise and Witty Counsel on Relationships, Parenting, Grief and Doing the Right Thing" (Stephens Press). His columns appear on Sundays. Contact him at skalas@reviewjournal.com.